Linux From Scratch - Version 6.4

Chapter 6. Installing Basic System Software

6.59.
About Debugging Symbols

Most programs and libraries are, by default, compiled with debugging
symbols included (with gcc's -g option). This means that when
debugging a program or library that was compiled with debugging
information included, the debugger can provide not only memory
addresses, but also the names of the routines and variables.

However, the inclusion of these debugging symbols enlarges a program
or library significantly. The following is an example of the amount
of space these symbols occupy:

A bash binary
with debugging symbols: 1200 KB

A bash binary
without debugging symbols: 480 KB

Glibc and GCC files (/lib and
/usr/lib) with debugging symbols:
87 MB

Glibc and GCC files without debugging symbols: 16 MB

Sizes may vary depending on which compiler and C library were used,
but when comparing programs with and without debugging symbols, the
difference will usually be a factor between two and five.

Because most users will never use a debugger on their system
software, a lot of disk space can be regained by removing these
symbols. The next section shows how to strip all debugging symbols
from the programs and libraries. Additional information on system
optimization can be found at
http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/hints/downloads/files/optimization.txt.